Will Smith didn’t just slap “Chris Rock”. He slapped “Black America”.
— -Dr. Murray Fortner (murrayfortner@yahoo.com)
I sat in front of a very diverse group of college students and asked for a sincere response to one question:
“How do you perceive Black males?”
Although there was a bit more context to the question, the answers were not surprising. I won’t list them because many of you can imagine what they were. One student even spoke about what she was told before arriving in this country. I appreciated the brutal honesty.
I am not going to make this about racism because that is a whole different discussion. Nevertheless, consider this. When other racial or ethnic groups behave in a deviant manner, there seems to be no quantum leap to include, stereotypically, their masses. Unfortunately for us, it happens. Nor does it help that a highly commercial music industry peddles beats that are a blessing and lyrics that are a curse. Highly lauded movies like Training Day and television shows like Power, BMF, and Empire all have a common theme…..turning the angry Black man into a meme.
The image of Black males as a menace to society has consequences. President Obama and the likes become the exception, and the aggressive, irrational, criminally inclined Black man becomes the rule to those who do not know us. Their perceptions are their reality, no matter how wrong they may be.
So armed citizens kill us without cause…
So a police officer shoots first instead of pause……
So a judge gives a longer sentence regardless of laws….
So a principal suspends quickly; is color one of the child’s flaws?
As Black men, we have too much that can hurt us from the outside. We do not need self-inflicted wounds on the inside. Will Smith didn’t just slap Chris Rock. He slapped Black America.
Maya Angelou said “when you know better, you should do better”. Will Smith is no dummy, and he knew better. It pains me to hear these weak excuses for his behavior. His ego got the best of him. Maybe his “affluenza” made him feel immune to punishment. The world was watching. The country was watching. The children will be watching. That slap carries with it a reverberating sting, and like a bell, his apology does not have the ability to un-ring.
Since our arrival in this experiment called America, Black men have been vilified. Now the saga continues, and we will be “Willified”.
